Pamela S. Tonglao is admitted to practice in the State of Washington and the Second, Third, Fourth, Ninth, Eleventh, and District of Columbia Circuit Courts of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court. She is a member of the civil litigation department and focuses her practice in the areas of environmental law, administrative law, design professional defense and general counseling. She has been a Continuing Legal Education speaker on emerging issues in environmental law and recently co-authored a paper on legal risks in green building design.

Prior to joining Skellenger Bender, Pamela served for nine years as a Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, where she litigated a wide range of affirmative and defensive cases in federal district and appellate courts. Her representative cases include:

• Litigation of greenhouse gas issues arising from the proposed construction of a power plant in San Francisco.
• Negotiation of favorable settlements in Clean Water Act enforcement actions involving discharges of dredged and fill material into waters of the United States.
• Successful defense of a Clean Water Act citizen suit under the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Endangered Species Act in connection with a highway construction project in the Florida Keys.
• Successful defense of an Oil Pollution Act case involving novel issues of insurance law.
• Settlement of numerous CERCLA contribution actions against federal agencies.
• Dismissal of an Administrative Procedure Act challenge to EPA’s establishment of Clean Water Act standards for Los Angeles River; the district court’s decision commended the briefs filed on behalf of EPA. City of Arcadia, et al. v. EPA, 265 F. Supp. 2d 1142, 1143 n.2 (N.D. Cal. 2003).
• Petitions for review of agency action in the Second, Third, Fourth, Ninth, Eleventh, and District of Columbia Circuit Courts of Appeals.

Prior to law school, Pamela worked as an environmental engineer for a large national consulting firm. She provided engineering design, project management, and compliance counseling services to clients on hazardous and solid waste disposal issues.

Pamela is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and King County Bar Association. She has served on the board of directors of the University of Washington Law School Alumni Association.

Presentations

• Environmental Considerations - 2009 Update, 16th Annual Washington Construction Law Conference (September 17, 2009) (with David Eckberg)
• Environmental Considerations - 2008, 15th Annual Washington Construction Law Conference (September 18, 2008) (with David Eckberg)

Publications

• Newsletter: Defeating Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Design Professionals (September 2009) (with Kara Masters)
• Newsletter: Spotlight on Stormwater: Anticipating Low Impact Development Requirements in Washington State (July 2009)
• Newsletter: Collection Strategies (December 2008) (with David Eckberg and William Bender)
• Newsletter: Risks in Green Building Design (September 2008)